Having two gardeners is not necessarily a good thing. Although No. 2, Paul, knows that he is employed to take the weight off No.1 Gardener’s shoulders, No.1 has no official idea. He came last week for his usual day and noticed that various jobs had been done. When he said, all innocently: "somebody has cleared the overhang on the path to the lane and filled a compost bin”, I agreed with a throwaway remark, implying that I had done it myself. “Yes, we had some good days for work last week.”“Yeeeees,” he said. Feeling uncomfortable I asked No. 1 to tackle the same path and dig out grass and weeds from between the stones. He made an excellent job of it. “Right,” he said, “ now it looks like somebody lives here.”
Apart from a permanent guilt feeling, having two gardeners, albeit temporarily, also means that I have to work twice as hard myself. Not for me the detached supervisory role; it’s “would you please . . . . “ and “if you don’t mind, could you help me with . . . . . .” round here. I come from a family who did for themselves, so when either gardener works, so do I. The same hours, although maybe not quite as hard, leaving me exhausted twice as often. I have a small garden, no more than 1/3 of an acre, there won’t be enough work for three of us soon. However, in winter most outdoor work stops and No. 1 won’t want to come anyway.
Markham, in the English Husbandman of 1635 says:
Now for quinces, they are a fruit which by no means you may place near any other kind of fruit, because their scent is so strong and piercing, that it will enter into any fruit and clean take away his natural relish. The time of their gathering is ever in October; and the meetest place to lie them in is where they may have most air and lie dry (for wet they can by no means endure); also they must not lie close, because the smell of them is both strong and unwholesome.”
Strong? yes. Unwholesome? No.
I'd give my right arm for two gardeners - there's only one here and that's me. (More weeds than hot dinners) PS your acer looks beautiful
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of a Japanese quince before. How neat.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love the smell of quinces.
ReplyDeleteAnd so understand your exhaustion (and there needs to be a better word) while you have two gardeners.
Nothing innocent about Gardener No 1's remark....!
ReplyDeleteI had a japonica bush in France but rarely made the jelly as I had a supply of ordinary quinces....but now I've come across a recipe for japonica jelly with star anise which I wish I had tried.
Looking forward to seeing golden jelly jars lined up in your window.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes work with our garden helper...but he usually does the really heavy stuff these days and I do weeding and transplanting. I do not have a third gardener to keep secrets from...that would be just too complicated.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Gardener 1 may be onto you...quince jelly...yum!
ReplyDeleteYou are clearly unaccustomed to being less than transparent. Speaks well of you!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=
I have no gardeners, but hired man for the cattle ... an during harvest ... don't forget to throw them a nice barbeque party, when all is done, eh ? .... so they will be back next year ... Greetings, Friko, be well, eh ? Love, cat.
ReplyDeletequince jelly is very nice..i guess i have never seen them raw or just did not know they were inedible that way...ha...i wonder if gardener wont figure you out soon enough...smiles..
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever had a quince. Or quince jelly. But it looks like you have quite a crop!
ReplyDeleteI DO have a gardener, as of today. I finally broke down and hired someone to work in the weeds and dirt, since I cough uncontrollably when I'm out there too much. He did huge work in the five hours I could pay him for today and will be back. Maybe, just maybe if we can get it really sorted out, I can keep it up. Good luck managing two of them!
We have "yard guys" who come and make loud noises that wake me up. I'd love to have an actual gardener. The lawn guys mow the lawn, and blow the leaves around, and spray the weeds on the gravel boulevard, but they don't pull weeds or plant anything. When we first moved here, I had a wonderful helper. She would do housecleaning, yard work, and probably dog-walking if we had had Lindy then. I could buy trees and shrubs, and she would dig the holes for me. It was wonderful, until she got an office job. For a while we had a friend coming to do the yard, and he would roll around on the grass with Lindy, and hugely entertained my young niece and nephew when they were visiting. But he got a heavy-duty job that left him no energy for anything but taking care of himself and his own dogs. So we have uncommunicative yard guys. They're no fun at all.
ReplyDeleteI do think your Gardener #1 suspects there is a #2 coming to your garden. He sounds like such an old darling, and I doubt if his feelings are seriously hurt, so perhaps you should tell him what's happening. Not easy to do, however.
I've never seen quinces before, but quince jelly shows up in many English mystery novels, and I've been curious. Now I know what they look like, and how they wish to be treated!
Luv, K
Doing the Gardener Shuffle sounds exhausting. Hopefully you'll get the major work done and all will settle down for the winter. Like the previous commentator, I've never seen quinces before either. But I'll be on the lookout for them now.
ReplyDeleteThe two gardeners are very fortunate to have such a nice employer who not only pays them but also is sensitive to their feelings.
ReplyDeleteI'm awfully amused with your secret gardener and feelings of guilt. I wonder how long you can keep the secret? Don't get too tired keeping up with your two men, you need to be on your toes to avoid the pitfalls of the truth.
ReplyDeleteRemember, "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive". Sorry, Friko, I really am very amused. Love quince jelly, had a quince tree years ago.
A real balancing act, isn't it, these two gardeners? I'm sure your garden is thankful.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness winter's on its way Friko and there'll be no gardeners, I quite honestly don't know how I'd cope with the ongoing suspense of them crossing over otherwise! Oh and of course your double work load will cease as well :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I have never tasted Quince Jelly/Jam.
Bezueglich der Quitten Friko (oh ja, ich liebe sie sehr!), grade gestern sah ich eine Dokumentation in 3SAT - Der Quittenpapst - hier ist der link, bestimmt findest Du das interessant:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.3sat.de/mediathek/?mode=play&obj=39008
In meiner Kindheit hatten wir immer Quitten, meine Mutter machte auch Gelee daraus. Letztes Jahr habe ich hier welche auf dem Mark gefunden und Marmelade gemacht, schau mal:
http://pazzapazza2.blogspot.co.il/search?q=Quince
Liebe Gruesse!
Quince jelly is delicious. I haven't had much luck with making it, but I enjoy the successes of others. I had to laugh at your story of the two gardeners.
ReplyDeleteFriko, you have 2 gardeners, and don't forget of your heart, if they do some hard work as cleaning grass, it's OK, you have to sit and watch. We all have much to do now, waiting winter, I love when somebody helps me too. I grow Chaenomeles as well, but it's very sour and need a lot of sugar to add in jelly. I sometimes put a piece of quince in a cup of tea. Have a nice week!
ReplyDeleteQuinces have a lovely scent! Do you happen to know Quittenbrot? It is, just like making jelly, a lot of work and of course I have never made it myself. But my Mum has, and it is a very sweet, old-fashioned treat.
ReplyDeleteje hebt het er maar druk mee maar wel leuk en kweeperengelei dat is heerlijk.
ReplyDeleteAh, I feel the saga of two gardeners has a lot more to come somehow;) Like you I cannot sit elsewhere while someone else works on my garden, so gardener's day for me is the most tiring of the week! I planted a quince last year and it is growing very well but no fruit yet of course. Looking forward to seeing the jelly!
ReplyDeleteI hate garden work, therefore our garden is rather care free. Barks and flower pots and a lawn and bushes around.
ReplyDeleteBTW if you don't want to have weeds growing in gravel or between stones, just put ordinary salt on the spaces. It's cheap and very efficient. Nothing grows on our gravel !
Hi Friko ... I can see a wee talk looming! I just hope understanding is in the air ...
ReplyDeleteI've never seen quince jelly being made - though the family tried it and failed. Would love to have a garden to husbandry in! Weed too I guess ...
It's a bit silly really to say take care - I know you and know I grew up in much the same way ... get on with it at all times ... it's gorgeous down here today though - perhaps we'll have a brief spell of warm Indian summer weather to herald November in ...
Cheers Hilary
OK - The older fella could come and play in my garden and the younger fella could still be in yours. I would keep him not so busy, as the property is not real big, but big enough to feel like you've don your share.
ReplyDeleteAbout these Japanese quinces - sounds delicious, although never tried them nor heard of them. I like trying new things. Right now, we are helping neighbour get in all her apples and there are tons of them. I love this time of the year and its getting colder now - heavy frost yesterday morning and I see it is so again this morning. Have a wonderful day Friko :)
I have never tasted quince anything. I'm glad you told me what those are, I thought they might be pears of some sort. I do hope you will get a chance to stop herding gardeners soon. :-)
ReplyDeleteQuince jelly, one of my favorites. Hard to find around here. I have one gardener and a small urban lot, but you know how much work those small gardens can generate. My remontant irises are about to blossom again. What a welcome fall treat.Dianne
ReplyDeleteYour garden sounds quite large enough to generate a lot of work -- and from the pictures I've seen it looks abundant and very beautiful. Lucky you having two gardeners to share the load! I also suspect that No. 1 knows there is a number two -- so best come clean! Also I love quince jelly -- yummmm!
ReplyDeleteQuince jelly sounds so good, I love it...It looks like you have a beautiful garden and two gardeners seems to be better than one. Do they know about each other?
ReplyDeleteHeidi
You have done gardener No.1 a service. I gardened commercially for 30+ years and recognize the posture --arthritis in his right elbow, possibly elsewhere as he makes a bending brace of his shovel. And you keep him --his expertise and mindfulness of detail warrant it. Most kind, and prudent. You're among the prized customers a gardener WANTS to do well for.
ReplyDeleteI would be the very same way if I had two gardeners. Good for you for hiring another one though. I know this will in many ways lighten your load even though you persist in working along side of them both.
ReplyDeleteI love the description of the quince fruit that you favored us with! The jelly sound delicious. I think I've tasted it, but I can't be sure of that. We don't grow quince around here.
No gardeners and also no quince jelly at my house! I had to smile that you're working yourself to the bone trying not to offend gardener #1! I believe you'll actually welcome winter this year.
ReplyDeleteTwo gardeners, lucky you! I have three...me, myself and I. Well, sometimes my husband helps, but not so reliably that I can count on him. Quinces don't grow up here, but my sister, who lives down in the San Bernardino valley, makes some every year and shares.
ReplyDeleteWith two gardeners , you seem to have an embarrassment of riches !
ReplyDeleteI envy you your quince jelly , it's always such a beautiful colour .
Friko and the two gardeners -- you sound like a woman carrying on an affair! Love it!
ReplyDeleteTricky business, two gardeners. I'm not surprised you're working even harder. Just the psychology of it is wearing, let alone the work. The quinces look beautiful--something we rarely see here, particularly now that the tart lady, who made gorgeous rustic French tarts with them, isn't at the local market anymore.
ReplyDeletei reckon a third of an acre is quite a big garden in modern Britain, especially for someone getting older, even if she does have two gardeners. I can just imagine myself working alongside a gardener if I had one, rather than letting him or her get on with the work.
ReplyDeleteAs for the quinces, I had a lovely Japanese quince bush which produced the most gorgeous flowers, but hardly any fruit, probably because its position was too exposed. Happy jelly-making.